For questions/answers on the Master and Servant Challenge, please post here…

[b] 1. Please read the instructions before posting here.[/b]
[b] 2. Please help us to answer questions. If you see a question already answered, please refer the person to that answer so that we don't keep repeating ourselves.[/b]
Thanks,
Leonard
[b]Technical Support[/b]

For all registration errors, or technical errors while using the Challenge site, please PM Robert Mibus, our technical officer - username: mibus.

[b]Frequently Asked Questions (last update: 24/3/05)[/b]
[b]- Concepts and Ideas -
[/b][b]Q: Can I do [insert concept here]? or What [i]exactly[/i] do you [i]want[/i]?[/b]
[color=White] A: Whatever is iconic and [i][b]directly related[/b][/i] to the Master and Servant genre. Please be imaginative and surprise us. We will not be giving anyone specifics. It needs to be iconic. Imagine that the image is to be used on a book novel cover.
Ask yourself - how is my concept related to the Master and Servant theme?
[b]Q: Does one of the characters in the Master and Servant relationship need to be human?[/b]
A: Yes - absolutely. One of the characters needs to be human - doesn't matter whether he/she is the master or servant.

[/color][color=White]Q: Does one of the characters in the Master and Servant relationship need to be 100% human?
A: Yes. One of the characters has to depict the globally accepted notion of the homo-sapien species.

Q: Do the characters need to be ‘alive’?
A: Surprise us.
[/color][color=White]Q: All your ‘inspirations’ are fantasy styled. Does it need to be in that same fantasy style?
A: No. We chose those artists and images because they inspired us immensely. Your image does not need to be in the fantasy genre. Be creative and surprise everyone!

[/color][b]Q: If we send our concepts early, what guarantee do we have that other people could not "steal" our idea?[/b]

A: Your guarantee is that there are 150,000 other members on CGTalk, many whom respect originality as it is in their best interest as artists. If someone has the gall to ‘steal’ your concept, and it is made known to the public, that person will get such a bad rap from the community that he/she will not want to come back. This has happened several times on CGTalk already with plagiarism made known to the public. However, in the history of the Challenge (all 16 of them), no-one has ever ‘stolen’ another person’s concept.

[b] Q: What happens if I change concept half way and want to do something totally different?[/b]
A: No problem, but you have to submit all the necessary milestones for that new concept, to qualify.
[b]Q: Can the initial sketch be a 3D sketch as opposed to pencil and paper? Can't draw I'm afraid.[/b]
A: Yes, this is fine; the sketch is supposed to show what you have in mind and where you are headed. Drawing is preferred.
[b]Q: I am currently working on another Master and Servant theme project (commercial/non-commercial/whatever). Can I make my image for this contest based on the other project?[/b]
A: Be original and imaginative please. Create a unique image.
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[b]- Challenge-Specific -
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[b]Q: How early do I have to start submitting milestones?[/b]

A: As early as possible. Although there is no due date earlier than the final closing date, part of the final judging vote puts emphasis on Community Interaction, which means that people who ‘hold back’ their work in progress till the last minute can be penalized.

[b] Q: Can we work in teams? What about pairs?[/b]
A: No, this is not a team challenge.
[b] Q: I'm using a new email but the challenge keeps sending stuff to my old one. How do I fix that?[/b]
A: You go into CGTalk's UserCP (User Control Panel) and change your email address there.
[b] Q: What if I am a winner and I want a different prize? E.g. What if I win the Grand Prize but I want the Runner Up prize instead?[/b]

A: You can contact the other winner with the prize that you want, and ask if they want to do an exchange. What you guys do with your prizes is up to you, and we’re not going to be involved in it.
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[/color]Q: How do I actually enter the competition?
A: Go to the challenge site and click on “Enter The Challenge”. Upload your pictures through the challenge site submission (“Submit Your Entry”).

[b]Q: Do I tag every concept sketch uploaded as a milestone, or just THE final concept sketch. [/b]
A: Everything is a milestone until you do the final image.
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[/color][b]Q: How i can get out of this challenge?[/b]
A: Just stop submitting.
[b]
Q: Can I have multiple entries?
[/b]A: No. As stated in the guidelines, no multiple entries although it's possible to enter both the 2D and 3D challenges as long as the two are vastly different in concept.
[b]Q: Can I upload my WIP images to my own server? Is that counted?[/b]

A: No. Please use the Challenge site facility to upload your Work-In-Progress. The purpose of the image hosting on the Challenge site is to give everyone the equal opportunity to post their work-in-progress, and have it hosted. At the conclusion of the Challenge, you will undoubtedly remove any Work-In-Progress images from your personal website and generate broken links all over CGTalk - so please use the Challenge upload facility.

A: Because this is a “Challenge” to challenge artists in creating original concepts and characters. Where’s the challenge in using pre-fabricated characters as main subjects?

[b]Q: Can I use Poser to make background characters?[/b]
A: No, if your characters are tiny it won't take you much effort to model some lowpoly humans anyway.
[b]Q: Can I use a trial version of a software?[/b]
A: Yes. We don't care. The final image must not have watermarks on it.
[b]Q: The guidelines in the instructions says that the resolution for the final image should be at least 2657 pixels wide and/or 3636 high, 300 DPI (portrait). Why do you need such a high resolution for?[/b]

A: We want to train people to create artwork for print. Therefore, things such as detailed textures and meshes become important in the creation of your artwork. The final image needs to be prepared for print, and we want everyone to work towards producing work that is print quality by habit.

[b]Q: What resolution do you want the final image to be exactly? What about if we make the image a different aspect ratio and orientation?[/b]

A: Your final image aspect ratio and orientation will dictate your final resolution. We want images that will print at 300dpi on a 22 x 30cm page (whatever orientation). Please do your research and work this out yourselves. Your final image will need to be rendered at enough resolution to print and hold up detail.
Q: Because of hardware limitations, is it ok to render a part and use it as a background, or render in “layers” and composite it all togueder later?
A: All post trickery is allowed and encouraged.

[b]Q: Any problems if I do it with a student license of Maya?[/b]
A: If it is watermarked then yes. Otherwise, no.
[b]Q: Is it ok to use vray, RenderMan or 3rd party renderers for rendering?[/b]
A: Why wouldn't it be? (yes)
[b]Q: While I know its ok to use 2D textures in this 3D project....is it going to be ok to use a 2D element as a back drop? Like a background....like a matte painting?[/b]
A: Yes.
[b]Q: Are we allowed to use web downloaded textures?[/b]

A: Yes, but they will have to be modified to suit your image. If stock textures are recognised there may be a penalty by the community and the judges, consciously or unconsciously.

ArtisticVisions - You may have to wait for an answer to this from Leo. But from the intro page it states …

The relationship of Master to Servant can be of human to creature or creature to human. One to many, or many to one. It could be based on power and conquest, love, hate, lust, benevolence, exploitation, religion, belligerence, psychosis, fear, adoration, debt, tradition, dare… However, the nature of these roles is one that is particular to the human condition, and therefore requires at least one human component, whether in the dominant or the submissive position.
… which (by my understanding) means that you need at least one human. Maybe Leo could clarify if “humanoids” or some manner of bi-ped creature would be allowed. It seems kind of restrictive if it must be human and doesn’t seem to fit the guidelines of past challenge themes. But, there may be a reason for this. I’ll wait until Leo provides an answer.

belail & percydaman - Inanimate as in a rock or corpse? Or like a robot or other mechanical thing? I believe you’ll get away with a lot, subject wise, as long as the theme of the challenge is well represented in your image.

Can someone or something be a master or servant to a rock or corpse? Sure.
Can someone or something be a master or servant to a robot or toaster? Sure.

Get creative. I’d hate to see a couple thousand images of chained characters paying homage to the toenails of yet another steroided cliche’.

I have a couple questions?
First off: In the instructions it says: "Artists are encouraged to think beyond traditional or conventional interpretations of the theme. Flex your imaginations and show us something original. To me the winner was kind of un-original,very traditional.Are you sure originality will mean something this time? Note*(Nothing against the winner and all mind you,he did real well).

My next question is: Humans are required.So does human toon types,half humans count? Kind of like the dad in the Incredibles I mean.

And my last question: Are bots allowed as another character alongside the human/like character?

maybe stupid question
may i post my challenge wip on CG and on another forum
i would like to get more feedback from some non english speakers
it has been done before by others but i want to know if it s ok

the shhpiel states that “explores and exposes the motives, emotions and expressions evoked” and “Whatever you choose to depict, the image must convey the relationship; the attitude and action; and the emotions of the Master and Servant archetypes.”

So does that mean that you have to see the/a human face! - odd i know, but i have an idea but it shows everyone walking awaY!! - the picture itself could and indeed should be enough to convey an emotion or feeling.
If the rules state that there must be at least one face shot, then i could show another character looking out (ish) at the camera. So??!

and i can show/depict religious imagery/icons? As i remember reading a thread once about no religious pics allowed on cgtalk. my idea aint baaad, but someone, in the whole wide world, might moan.:shrug: oh, to help you decide…its jesus(in one idea) and a pic of a church in another.

I am wondering, is there a way that I can finish filling out my entry for the Master and Servant Challenge, the link had broke when I was filling out the rest of my info and I am having trouble trying to do that. I also erased my subscription to the forum when I had went to my user profile, and am wondering if I did something wrong. I apologize for my ignorance, and really want to do this challenge. I need help, Thanx.

i was hoping i wouldn’t have any questions so I could just start, but… yea:

#1) While reading the dictionary definitions for ‘servant,’ I was wondering if interpreting it as “slave” would be acceptable. If an image leans more on the ‘slave’ side on the very thin line between servant & slave, will it be discounted more easily?

#2) Does the the 2nd presence (whether master OR servant) have to be visible on the canvas or can it be suggested?

Thanks ahead of time, and I apologize if these are unecessary questions

My question: Would I be penalised for commenting less than some members might do? People like me on mega-slow connections can wait for 20 minutes for a single forum page with images to load. If this will count against me then I’d be sunk before I started, so I would appreciate an honest answer Thanks